Why TikTok matters

Why TikTok matters

Update: 2025-09-29
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This week, Sean talks with Emily Baker-White, author of Every Screen on the Planet, about why TikTok feels uniquely addictive, how it turned social media into a push-not-pull entertainment feed, and what happens when human editors inside the company can override the algorithm.




A few days after they spoke, TikTok was in the headlines again. So they jumped on a follow-up call to unpack the latest twists in the saga of who will ultimately control the app's US-operations.




Host: Sean Illing (@SeanIlling)


Guest: Emily Baker-White, reporter and author of Every Screen on the Planet: The War Over TikTok




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Why TikTok matters

Why TikTok matters

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